Research article - Characterization of exploratory patterns and hippocampal–prefrontal network oscillations during the emergence of free exploration

• Author: Wenxiu Dong 1, Hongbiao Chen 1, Timothy Sit 1, Yechao Han 1, Fei Song 2,3,4, Alexei L. Vyssotski 5, Cornelius T. Gross 6, Bailu Si 7+, Yang Zhan 1+
• Date: May 24, 2021

1. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Manipulation, the Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen; Key Laboratory of Translational Research for Brain Diseases, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong; Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China
2. State Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
3. Institutes for Robotics and Intelligent Manufacturing, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110169, China
4. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
5. Institute of Neuroinformatics, the University of Zürich and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich CH-8057, Switzerland
6. European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Monterotondo 00015, Italy
7. School of Systems Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China

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Abstract

During free exploration, the emergence of patterned and sequential behavioral responses to an unknown environment reflects exploration traits and adaptation. However, the behavioral dynamics and neural substrates underlying the exploratory behavior remain poorly understood. We developed computational tools to quantify the exploratory behavior and performed in vivo electrophysiological recordings in a large arena in which mice made sequential excursions into unknown territory. Occupancy entropy was calculated to characterize the cumulative and moment-to-moment behavioral dynamics in explored and unexplored territories. Local field potential analysis revealed that the theta activity in the dorsal hippocampus (dHPC) was highly correlated with the occupancy entropy. Individual dHPC and prefrontal cortex (PFC) oscillatory activities could classify various aspects of free exploration. Initiation of exploration was accompanied by a coordinated decrease and increase in theta activity in PFC and dHPC, respectively. Our results indicate that dHPC and PFC work synergistically in shaping free exploration by modulating exploratory traits during emergence and visits to an unknown environment.

Acknowledgments

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